Helget said he gives as often as he can and hopes to hit the 10-gallon donation mark soon.

Helget is not certain how close he is to 10 gallons. Red Cross records only go back to 1984.

He remembers his first blood donation was in 1957, when he was serving with the military in Germany.

Helget was one several people who chose to donate Wednesday. Several others gave of their time and blood.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Gerald "Pete" Helget makes a “double-red” donation Wednesday during the American Red Cross blood drive happening Wednesday through Friday at the New Ulm Civic Center.

Red Cross coordinator Ellen Friedrich said the supply is rebounding from the shortage experienced during the pandemic, but the need is always great.

The Red Cross blood drive will continue from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday, June 9, and 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 10. Currently there are several open appointment times for Thursday and Friday.

The goal of the three-day blood drive is to collect 227 units of donated blood. A standard blood donation is a unit of 500 milliliters, which is about one pint.